(UM08-23) - Work and Retirement Choices of Women: The Impact of Social Security Rules in ChileAlejandra Cox Edwards and Estelle James

As women enter the labor force in increasing numbers, it becomes increasingly important to understand their retirement behavior, which may differ from that of men. How do system rules and other forces shape their age of pensioning and withdrawal from the labor force? Postponed retirement will increase the productive capacity of the economy, improve the finances of social security systems, and reduce poverty among very old women. We plan to use a new Chilean retrospective data set collected in 2002 and 2004 to analyze these questions. Implications for pension policy in the US will be drawn.